Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kimchi

/kˈɪmtʃi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: kim-chi
IPA: /kˈɪmtʃi/

17

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Korean dish made of vegetables, such as cabbage or radishes, that are salted, seasoned, and stored in sealed containers to undergo lactic acid fermentation.

Uncountable

noun

A Korean person.

Countable; Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

""Yeah." He gestured to the kimchi. "Well, get it in ya, then." "It's better hot." she said."
"Despite the stew’s debt to kimchi, you know it has come into its own when it’s served with kimchi as a side dish."
"How did I know the kimchis were trying to smuggle the crate out of Japan?"
"In the United States, Germans are sometimes called "krauts" ... Koreans "kimchis," and poor white Southerners "crackers"..."
"... he doesn't know the difference between Ping-Pongs and Kimchis."

Etymology

Borrowed from Korean 김치 (gimchi), ultimately composed within Korea of Chinese-derived morphemes 沉 (MC drim, “submerged, soaked”) and 菜 (MC tshojH, “vegetable”), i.e. "fermented vegetable". Doublet of kimuchi.

Origin

Source language: Chinese

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Usage

Inflected Forms

kimchis (plural) kimchee (alternative) kim chee (alternative) gimchee (alternative) gimchi (alternative)

Derived Forms

kimslaw

Phrases

kimchi-jjigae

Homonyms

kimchee

Rhymes With

kimchee

Questions

How do you pronounce kimchi?: The recorded pronunciation is /kˈɪmtʃi/.
What does kimchi mean?: A Korean dish made of vegetables, such as cabbage or radishes, that are salted, seasoned, and stored in sealed containers to undergo lactic acid fermentation.
Where does kimchi come from?: It is traced to Chinese.

How to pronounce kimchi

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kimchi”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kˈɪmtʃi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kimchi”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kimchi” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.